Learning and Discovering Through Play and Exploration

Because I love you all–the education bloggers, the parents, the homeschoolers, the teachers, the crafters, and, most of all, the kids, I wanted to create something helpful for the community.
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So, I put together a Google Custom Search Engine with some of my favorite educational bloggers. You can easily use the search engine. It is right on the sidebar of my site (under “Search Educational Blogs”).
This was not an entirely selfless exercise. When I … Read entire article »

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Whether teaching your kids or students in the classroom, you usually have the advantage of knowing your partners in learning. For my moms’ meet-up group, I have been organizing a weekly “Preschool Play Date”. Today our preschool play date suddenly became a Toddler Play Date and I had to adjust our plans. The result was a fun and easy fish craft that even a toddler will enjoy.
Sea creatures are always a hit with little … Read entire article »

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My daughter has been taking piano lessons for almost a year and she loves to play. I am impressed with the progress she is making with her teacher. She can play pieces with chords, using both hands. However, I can tell that help with sight reading notes would improve the fluency of her play–and probably her enjoyment.
We bought flashcards but they did not hold her interest and I do not like to push.
Instead, inspired … Read entire article »

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Imagine showing up to school with no supplies because your family cannot afford them. As an educator who has worked in a variety of districts, I have seen how this can affect students. The more perceptive teachers sometimes quietly supply the students with what they need. Many students, however, suffer the embarrassment of being labeled “unprepared” or “scatterbrained” or “lazy”. And teacher-funded classrooms are not the solution–the most gifted teachers should not have to … Read entire article »

We went for a program at a local nature center and it was a great reminder that a lot of our negative reaction to insects and other bugs is a learned response. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t recoil when I see our friend, Rosie…
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The educator at the nature center urged kids to exclaim “Oooo!” instead of “Ewww!” and I think that she has the right idea to encourage the children’s sense … Read entire article »

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Inspired by this craft on the Elmer’s Glue site, we made our own flag today. The site says appropriate for kids 5-11 but I think it is doable for three and up–especially if you either complete it as a class or over several days.
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Our main modification was that the white stripes are the white paper underneath showing through, instead of their own line of paper. We did this primarily based on the attention … Read entire article »

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We had a “patriotic play date” today in anticipation of America’s Birthday.
We began by talking a little bit about the Fourth of July and Independence Day. Most of the (verbal) kids associated the day with fireworks, parades, and summer foods like watermelon, corn on the cob, and ice cream. Our six year old friend knew that it had something to do with the Revolutionary War. For the younger kids I explained that we were … Read entire article »

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About the Author

Candace Lindemann is a published children’s writer and educational consultant. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Working with school districts around the country and some of the most well-known companies in the education industry, Candace creates custom strategies, textbooks, and lesson plans. Her articles have appeared in print and online.

While Candace’s degrees prepared her for a career in education, she’s found that the best preparation for parenting is on the job training.